My First Etsy Sale!

In 2020 I set up my Etsy store to sell printable digital wall art of my creative work, and last month I made my first sale!

Etsy has never been a priority for me; it has always been a potential side income. I set Etsy up when my business was named Steph Welch and recently updated the branding and some of the products to reflect the new direction of my business (I have since reverted to Steph Welch). 

The Abstract oranges print, which sold, is one of the first digital illustrations I created with Procreate in 2020. It's such a bold, colourful design, and I love it! It would look perfect in a kitchen to add a pop of colour.

Etsy Fees

Despite the excitement of getting my first sale, I was a little disappointed in the money I received. With the endless list of transaction fees, operation fees, and goodness knows what else Etsy takes from the sale, the total amount into the seller's pocket is significantly less than what the customer pays. 

I appreciate that my print would not have been found if it weren't for the marketing and brand trust that comes with being on Etsy. However, when selling printables, high pricing can be off-putting to customers, but making a profit is essential considering the time and effort that goes into designing the art and creating the listings. 

It was a matter of days after my first sale that I received an email from Etsy outlining how the seller's fees would be increasing. This added to my disappointment and motivated me to find other, less costly ways of selling my art.

Printables Shop

I currently have a shop section here on this website. I have set my pricing slightly lower than it is on Etsy. The digital art products are the same as a customer buying on Etsy would receive; however, the fees I, as a seller, incur are much less. I believe I only have to pay a transaction fee for the payment system. 

The problem with selling on my website is the lack of traffic I get, especially compared with Etsy, as it's a well-known marketplace. I have been working on my SEO strategy to try and remedy this. Step one has been researching keywords for the different primary pages of my site and implementing them on the page. Step 2 is to do the same for each of my products and ensure they are all well-optimised. 

In the meantime, I need to work on my blog. Blogging is excellent for SEO, so my blog strategy is something that I need to focus on and stay consistent with from now on. SEO is a hard slog and a long process; it will take time to affect my site and, therefore, my sales. But hopefully, the juice will be worth the squeeze and eventually, I will be making more sales through my site than through Etsy. 

Where Does That Leave Etsy

Despite the smaller profit margin, I can't deny the benefits of my products being in a popular global marketplace. I will continue to offer my digital downloads on Etsy for now. I have included links to my website and social media on my Etsy shop, so hopefully, buyers might move across to make their purchases. And I will continue to promote my website link when advertising my products. 

If you're an Etsy seller, what are your thoughts on the fee increase? And do you have an alternative platform you're growing?